Prague repositions itself after the stag do reputation

26/11/2007

Prague. Once a haven for stag and hen parties, long weekends and beer tours...the central European city break is changing its image for a new kind of tourist.

A killer combination of low cost flights, cheap accomodation, cheap beer and seedy nightlife spots made it top of the list for many a drunken party, but the cities tourism industry is not benefiting as much from this reputation as previously thought.

In an article in the Guardian today, Ondrej Vilimec, the manager of hotel Perla said: 'The irony is that many of us didn't make any money from those groups anyway. They tended to stay in the cheapest B&Bs and drink in the big pubs while the rest of us lost business because other types of tourists stayed away.'

This is now set to change, as a new wave of design hotels, sleek bars and exclusive clubs pop up around the city. Highlighted are the Aria Hotel, a new slick design hotel and Kampa Park - where celeb spotting is the dish of the day.